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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to creating an exception to the offense of unlawful |
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installation of a tracking device. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 16.06, Penal Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (e) to read as |
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follows: |
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(d) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this |
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section that the person: |
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(1) obtained the effective consent of the owner or |
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lessee of the motor vehicle before the electronic or mechanical |
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tracking device was installed; |
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(2) [was a peace officer who installed the device in
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the course of a criminal investigation or pursuant to an order of a
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court to gather information for a law enforcement agency;
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[(3)] assisted another whom the person reasonably |
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believed to be a peace officer authorized to install the device in |
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the course of a criminal investigation or pursuant to an order of a |
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court to gather information for a law enforcement agency; or |
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(3) [(4)] was a private investigator licensed under |
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Chapter 1702, Occupations Code, who installed the device: |
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(A) with written consent: |
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(i) to install the device given by the owner |
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or lessee of the motor vehicle; and |
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(ii) to enter private residential property, |
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if that entry was necessary to install the device, given by the |
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owner or lessee of the property; or |
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(B) pursuant to an order of or other |
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authorization from a court to gather information. |
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(e) It is an exception to the application of this section |
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that the actor was a peace officer who installed the device in the |
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course of a criminal investigation or pursuant to an order of a |
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court to gather information for a law enforcement agency. |
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SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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governed by the law in effect at the time the offense was committed, |
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and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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before that date. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |